Final answer:
The Dawes Act of 1887 was a law that divided Native American reservations into individual family plots and transferred remaining lands to the federal government. It had different impacts on Native Americans and white settlers, with Native Americans seeing it as an assault on their way of life.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dawes Act of 1887 was a law passed to encourage assimilation among Native Americans. It authorized the government to divide existing reservations into individual family plots and transfer the remaining lands to the federal government.
From the perspective of white settlers, the Dawes Act was seen as generous as Native Americans were granted free land and assistance in adopting American farming methods. However, from the Native American perspective, the Dawes Act was seen as an assault on their way of life, as it ended communal property and disrupted their social, economic, and religious practices.